1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting display and a method of manufacturing the same, and, more particularly to, an organic light emitting display capable of protecting a driving circuit from electrostatic discharge (ESD) and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light emitting display is a self-emission display that has a wider view angle, a higher contrast, a faster response speed, and a lower power consumption as compared to that of a liquid crystal display (LCD). Because a back light is not required, the organic light emitting display can be made to be light and thin.
The organic light emitting display includes a first substrate having a pixel (or display) region and a non-pixel (or non-display) region and a container (or a second substrate) provided to face the first substrate for encapsulation and to be attached to the first substrate by a sealant such as epoxy.
In the pixel region, a plurality of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are coupled between scan lines and data lines in a matrix to form pixels. Each OLED includes an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and an organic thin layer formed between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, wherein the organic thin layer includes a hole transport layer, an organic light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer.
In the non-pixel region, the scan lines and data lines are extended from the scan lines and the data lines of the pixel region, power source supply lines are disposed for operating the OLEDs, and a scan driver and a data driver are disposed for processing signals supplied from an external source through an input pad to supply the processed signals to the scan lines and the data lines. The scan driver and the data driver include a driving circuit for converting the signals supplied from the external source into scan signals and data signals to selectively drive the pixels. The scan driver and the data driver can be formed in a process of manufacturing the OLEDs or can be manufactured as an additional integrated circuit chip to be mounted on a substrate of the organic light emitting display. Since the substrate of the organic light emitting display is formed of glass, a large electrostatic discharge (ESD) can be generated during manufacturing or when the organic light emitting display is being used. In particular, because the driving circuit is composed of thin film transistors (TFTs) and are operated at high speed, a low voltage is formed in a peripheral part of the organic light emitting display, thereby causing the driving circuit to directly receive the ESD. When the ESD is received, the channels and the gate insulating layers of the TFTs may be damaged, erroneous operations may be generated by the short between the gate electrodes and wiring lines, and/or the driving circuit may be damaged due to the electric influence. The driving circuit is more severely damaged by the ESD as the driving circuit is highly integrated (or minimized).
In order to prevent (or protect) the driving circuit from being damaged by the ESD, an additional protecting element or a protecting circuit capable of discharging a high voltage may be added. However, the element or the protecting circuit is designed to discharge the ESD generated during the manufacturing processes and its effectiveness in preventing (or reducing) the damage generated during the use of the organic light emitting display is limited.